With New Jersey already offering online poker and casino gaming, and now Pennsylvania set to get started, New York is already falling behind. The state has tried to see online gaming come to fruition in the past, but failed to see legislation move forward. Last year, S 3898, a measure involving online poker gaming, passed within the state Senate but died on January 3rd of this year. The bill is now back in the Senate and currently sits within the Senate Racing, Gaming and Wagering Committee.
While the Senate bill is back in action, a similar bill has been left in the Assembly after being introduced in February of last year. The bill was never voted on but still remains under discussion. The measure is currently under review within the Assembly Codes Committee. The state has the potential to see online poker come to life with either measure.
In the past, New York has tried to focus on online gaming, but lawmakers eventually decided that the commercial casinos needed to be in operation first, before they could move ahead with online games. Now that the final casino should be opening this year, it is safe to say that lawmakers should be shifting their focus to iGaming.
The Resorts World Castskills, a $1.2 billion resort casino, should be open towards the end of next month. This is the last gaming venue that was approved back in 2013 to provide the state with Las Vegas style gaming. It is believed that lawmakers will shift their focus to online poker gaming once this final casino is open for business.
The state decided to get in on the commercial casino action due to losing at least a billion dollars every year as players went to casinos located in neighboring states. While New York has been losing out on land-based gaming revenues, they will soon face even more online competition. The smart move is to legalize online gaming so that New York can continue to stay in competition with neighboring states.
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